AN: I had to remove the lyrics so the full chapter can be found at this web page (remove the spaces):
www. geocities. com/ gerrysmistress/ index. html

That night Christine took to the stage for the first time as a leading soprano. Erik had done what he had always threatened to do and finally ran Carlotta out of the theater. Everyone in the cast and on the crew flocked to the edges of the stage to watch Christine perform her solo. Everyone, except Sara, who had left the area as soon as the opera had started.

She had gone down to Erik's lair and he had been quick to suggest that they go for a walk, something they did quite often. She was telling him all about the conversation with her uncle when he touched her arm to stop her talking. Sara stood patiently, listening as the sound of Christine's voice floated down to them. Sara sighed quietly and moved away from Erik as he became entranced in the song.

"Beautiful." He whispered as the last chords of the song drifted off.

He turned to find Sara leaning against the wall, an annoyed look on her face. "Will you finally make yourself known to Christine tonight?" She asked her annoyance even more evident in her tone.

"Perhaps, I think with the success of tonight, it would be for the best."

Sara pushed herself away from the wall, and turned her back to Erik, not wanting him to see the tears that were forming in her eyes. "Well, I shall take my leave then. I'm sure that you have much to prepare."

Erik watched Sara walk quickly away from him. Her reaction to his comment confused him, but he did not have the time to contemplate her jealousy. She had been right about one thing; there was much he had to prepare.

Sara stepped through the hidden door that was behind the mirror in Christine's dressing room. She closed it tightly as she had been instructed several times, and quickly crossed the room to leave it. She closed the dressing room door behind her and was about to move away when a hand closed around her arm like a vice.

"What do you think you were doing?" The voice and hand belonged to Joseph Buquet, one of the stage hands.

He was what Mme. Giry called: "A beast of a man with nothing better to do than drink and chase after the dancers." His presence had always made Meg, Christine and Sara uncomfortable, but he haunted the ballet dormitories, much like Erik haunted the rest of the theater.

"Not that I have to explain myself to you, but I was delivering something that Christine had requested to be in her room when she was done performing." Sara said trying to get her arm away.

Buquet held her arm even tighter, the grip making Sara wince in pain. "What was it?"

"How would I know? Mme. Giry handed me an envelope and told me to deliver it to the dressing room."

Sara was now wondering if Buquet was trying to break her arm, because his grip just kept tightening, and it was almost becoming unbearable to her. "I didn't see you go in that room."

"Yes, well I can smell the liquor on you, and that drink makes you even blinder than I will ever be." Sara hissed at him. "Now let me go!"

The sound of a large group of people entering the hallway was what made Buquet finally release her arm. Sara walked away from him, her arm aching where he had held her. She passed Mme. Giry, who eyed her warily and climbed the stairs to the dormitory, wanting nothing more than to sleep away the night and try to forget that Erik would soon have Christine under his power. That very thought frightened Sara, who did not want to lose her precious friend.

She drifted off into a restless and dreamless sleep while the party raged on down below. Many hours later several dancers entered the dormitories, their excited squeals waking Sara up from her slumber.

"Sleeping in your clothes now Sara?" One of the dancers teased as Sara climbed to her feet and left the room.

Sara returned to the area where the party was winding down, who ever was left in the hallway were probably too drunk to make it up the stairs to their beds alone. She stumbled on a foot, but kept heading towards Christine's dressing room. Sara knew that if the door was locked then it meant that Erik had taken Christine away. However, if the door was open and Christine was in the room, she could easily pretend like she had come to congratulate her friend on her fine performance.

She touched the marks on the door frame to make sure she was at the right door before testing the handle. She found herself becoming angry at the fact that it was indeed locked, and moved to Piangi's room, where there was a similar hidden door. As she closed the door to Piangi's unused room, Meg appeared and let herself into Christine's dressing room.

Sara was making her way down a side corridor, attached to the one that Meg was currently walking down. Sara froze at the sound of Meg's scream and waited, breathing quietly to see if the girl would run into her. It didn't take long before she heard another set of footsteps and Mme. Giry's disapproving sigh at finding her daughter snooping around.

Only when Sara could no longer hear the two women, did she continue on her way. She continued down the corridor, feeling the familiar guidance of the notches under her fingers. She turned away from the water and continued to move down a passage that she knew would make her seen. Provided, of course that Erik was at his writing desk.

It didn't take her long to come to the entrance hidden by a tapestry. She could smell candles burning and hear the sound of a pen scratching against parchment. She began to pull the tapestry back, but froze when she heard Christine's voice.

Sara dropped the tapestry, wondering for a brief moment whether or not Christine had seen her.

Sara was afraid that Christine had seen her, but when she pulled the tapestry back, she realized that she was safe, and hadn't been seen.

Sara held her breath, tears of jealousy burning in her eyes. She silently hoped that Christine would remove Erik's mask, if she did that then he might hate her enough to never see her again.

A grin crept across Sara's face. Once again Christine's morbid curiosity had gotten the better of her. And this time, she was in a lot of trouble.

Erik pushed a candelabrum over, almost making Sara cry out as the loud bang startled her. She was disappointed, he didn't hate Christine, and he was using his face as an excuse to keep her prisoner. Sara could hear Erik's tone quickly turning from anger to self pity.

The silence was beginning to drive Sara insane. For the first time since she was a child she wished that she could see what was going on.

"Come we must return. Those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you." Erik told Christine.

Sara stayed in her hiding place until she could no longer hear the sounds of Erik pushing the boat through the water. She slowly made her way down the stone steps, silently counting as she always did. She leaned down until she could feel the softness of the satin sheets and sat down to await Erik's return.

It wasn't long before she heard Erik returning and turned to face him. She could hear his footsteps on dry land, but they were walking away from her, meaning that he hadn't noticed her presence.

She soon heard the scratch of his pen once more and sighed quietly. She stood and began walking towards the passage beside the bed that would lead her out.

"Don't go." Erik said, making her pause. "Come here."

Sara turned and walked towards the area where his writing desk was located. She hadn't brought her cane so she tripped on the fallen candelabra. Erik stood up and walked over to her, helping her off the floor and over to a chair.

"I'm surprised you let her go." Sara told him quietly.

Erik said nothing, but returned to his desk. They sat quietly for a long time, Erik writing, and Sara listening to the sound of his pen scratching on the paper. "I want you to deliver these notes for me."

Sara's head cocked to one side in curiosity, "Who are they for?"

"The owners, the patron, Mme. Giry, and Carlotta." He told her.

"Will you read them to me?"

Erik glanced over at her in confusion before, pulling out the notes and reading them to her. Each one carried instructions to ensure the success of Christine and the downfall of Carlotta. The final one was addressed to everyone, and she was to deliver it to Mme. Giry. Erik would take care of the rest.